Nine's Underwear Expectations

Australia's commercial TV networks have just been allowed an extra minute of advertising each hour to accommodate the flood of pre-election ads.

But over at Nine - the team at A Current Affair has found a way to wedge what amounts to a five minute ad into the middle of the program.

Tracy Grimshaw: Well, now to an influential group of Australian women together for a special forum. Their say on issues including body image and role models.

Lisa Hensley: That's a fallacy. Women are not comfortable with their bodies.

Sarah Murdoch: You know, it's not enough. You've gotta be a mum and a career woman.

— Channel 9, A Current Affair, 10th September, 2007

A Current Affair's story had a model, a fashion editor, model recruiter and - wait for it - designers and executives from Bonds.

And while they were all chatting reporter Brady Halls did what he was presumably ordered to do - and steered the conversation towards the struggle to find the right underwear.

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I'm not 60 and I love those cottontails...actually Lara and Lizzy do you want to come out...if you want to go out and buy something and feel sexy and good in it that it's there for you.

Model: I can go out and buy things like this which is holding me in, in the right places but not nanna. It's sexy and you know for me sexy is inside...

— Channel 9, A Current Affair, 10th September, 2007

Those models weren't the only sign that this was all about promoting Bonds.

The room where the forum was shot was plastered with pictures of Bonds underwear.

And Bonds underwear was on the mannequin displays in the background too.

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While A Current Affair didn't tell its TV audience that the story was really an advertorial, it did fess up on its website.

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It's not just that most women don't like their bodies - many are also confused about how they should look. At least that's what we discovered at Bonds' body image forum.

— Ninemsn ACA website, Body Image Forum

And that of course accounts for the presence of Sarah Murdoch in the forum.

She's the face of Bonds.

"I just want to get on with my day without thinking about my undies."

— New Woman, September 2007

So did Bonds pay Channel Nine for this 5 and a half minute long ad - smack bang in the middle of its evening tabloid current affairs program?

Well a Current Affair won't tell us.

But Bonds says no.

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The forum was a direct result of research and work we are currently doing at Bonds about women aged 30+ and their body shapes...Bonds did not pay for the story or offer any other consideration to any party linked with Channel 9. It was offered as a pure editorial opportunity and accepted on that basis.